sjar Chapter 252: Palace Intrigue and Emotional Turbulence
Chapter 252: Palace Intrigue and Emotional Turbulence
When Yun Mengting stepped into the harem, it was like stepping into another world. Although there was no real fighting, there were schemes hidden everywhere.
Relying on the medical skills passed down from her ancestors and her own cleverness, she quickly became famous in the harem. The concubines, some seeking more favor, some hoping to secure their positions, and some sincerely hoping to improve their health, all treated Yun Mengting with great favor.
One day, Concubine Li sent someone to ask Yun Mengting to take her pulse. The palace where Concubine Li lived was magnificent, with carved beams and painted buildings.
Yun Mengting walked into the inner room and saw Concubine Li lazily leaning on the couch, her face a little pale. Yun Mengting gently placed her hand on Concubine Li's wrist, carefully feeling her pulse. After a moment, she said, "Your Majesty, your pulse seems weak, and your Qi and blood are insufficient. Have you been too worried and stressed lately? You must take good care of yourself."
Concubine Li nodded slightly, sighed and said, "Miss Yun, your medical skills are really amazing. Things in the palace are as messy as a mess. How can I not be annoyed?"
I heard you've experienced a lot of interesting things in the martial arts world. Tell me about them." Yun Mengting knew clearly that Concubine Li was testing her, so she picked out some insignificant things to talk about.
When exchanging medical skills with the imperial doctors in the palace, there were also undercurrents.
Some imperial doctors, relying on their many years and seniority in the palace, did not take this young woman who suddenly appeared seriously at all, and deliberately made things difficult for her in medical skills from time to time; other imperial doctors wanted to win over Yun Mengting in order to enhance their status in the palace.
Furthermore, Ling Xuan had also fallen into the vortex of power in the court. Several ministers, some wanting to consolidate their power, others wanting to suppress their opponents, had their eyes on Ling Xuan.
Prime Minister Li, who was concerned about the affairs of the world, valued Ling Xuan's prestige in the martial arts world and his chivalrous spirit, and wanted to pull him to his side so that he could compete with those ministers with ulterior motives.
Lord Li often left Ling Xuan alone after discussing things in the court, and talked to him about the good and bad things in the court, trying to get Ling Xuan to follow him in a roundabout way: "Prince Ling, the court is not very stable now. There are many bad people making trouble. We need a hero like you to come out and help support the country." Ling Xuan just responded politely, but did not express his opinion easily.
However, Lord Wang, the Imperial Censor, regarded Ling Xuan as a thorn in his side. Ling Xuan's integrity and his connections in the underworld made Lord Wang feel particularly threatening.
Lord Wang secretly instructed his officials to gather evidence against Ling Xuan, intending to impeach him at court and have him expelled from the palace. They fabricated stories, alleging that Ling Xuan had colluded with bandits while on the fringe of the Jianghu, and now that he was in the palace, he might do something bad.
Because of all the messy things going on in the court and the harem, Ling Xuan and Yun Mengting had less and less time to spend together. Yun Mengting was in her palace, staring blankly at the moon outside the window.
She felt very aggrieved, thinking that she and Ling Xuan had finally gone through so many life and death tests, and she thought they could rely on each other in the palace, but who knew that they would be left aside now.
"The prince is only concerned with the affairs of the court now. Has he forgotten me a long time ago?" Yun Mengting muttered softly, tears welling up in her eyes.
Ling Xuan faced his own challenges. He had to navigate the court's challenges and attempts to win him over, taking every step with caution. He knew that only by gaining a firm foothold in the palace could he protect Yun Mengting and secure a future for both of them.
"Ting'er, once I have dealt with all these troubles, I will definitely be able to accompany you well." Ling Xuan looked in the direction of the harem and muttered silently.
At this time, Yun Mengting accidentally discovered that Lu Xiao's family was secretly colluding with a force in the palace.
Ever since Lu Xiao lost his status in the palace, he was like a dog without a home, anxious to find a new backer in the palace so that he could start to rise again.
He and Shen Yuke were still in the same boat. Shen Yuke relied on her pretense of being gentle and kind to run around in the harem, having a passionate affair with the favored Concubine Hui.
She always whispered in Huifei's ear, praising Lu Xiao's ability and saying that Lu Xiao was loyal to the court. She wanted to use Huifei's words in front of the emperor to get Lu Xiao an official position or make the emperor look at him with a higher regard.
Jiang Feng was secretly plotting something in the dark. He was as meticulous as a hair, like a poisonous snake hiding in the grass.
He had devised a host of evil schemes to deal with Yun Mengting. First, he secretly spread rumors that Yun Mengting, while conditioning the concubines, was actually using sorcery to absorb their essence to enhance her own power.
The rumor first spread quietly among the palace maids and eunuchs, and then became more and more popular, and even the concubines and ministers heard about it.
Then, Jiang Feng did something naughty again and created an accident. One time, Yun Mengting went to the Imperial Garden to pick herbs for a concubine. When she passed by the lake, the railings by the lake suddenly broke and Yun Mengting almost fell into the lake.
Thanks to her quick reaction, she grabbed a nearby branch and was saved. After this incident, the rumor that Yun Mengting was a witch became even more powerful.
Yun Mengting knew she was caught up in a conspiracy, so she decided to investigate secretly to clear her name. She quietly followed Lu Xiao's spies in the palace, but was discovered by that force.
They fabricated a wealth of false evidence, including papers filled with sorcerous spells and letters alleging Yun Mengting was in league with a cult. They presented these false documents to the emperor, who, enraged, ordered Yun Mengting imprisoned in a remote palace and heavily guarded by soldiers. Yun Mengting was plunged into a desperate situation, her freedom shattered.
Imprisoned in the palace, Yun Mengting did not lose heart. She calmly thought of a solution, recalling every detail of her time in the palace, hoping to find a way to decipher the conspiracy from those clues.
When Ling Xuan heard Yun Mengting had been framed, he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. He rushed around the palace, not caring about his own safety. He first sought an audience with the emperor, explaining that Yun Mengting was wrongly accused: "Your Majesty, Miss Yun is kind-hearted and a skilled doctor. I've known her for a long time and know she would never use sorcery to cause trouble in the palace. Please investigate thoroughly." However, the emperor, skeptical of Ling Xuan's claims, was troubled by the false evidence (which he had believed to be genuine).
Ling Xuan went to find the concubines, palace maids and eunuchs who had been saved by Yun Mengting, hoping that they could testify for Yun Mengting.
But most of those people were afraid of retaliation from the conspiracy forces, so they either hid themselves or were vague and did not dare to tell the truth.
But Ling Xuan did not give up. He continued to look for witnesses and collect evidence. Even if there were thorns ahead, he was determined to clear Yun Mengting's grievances and compete with the dark forces in the palace.